My Beauty Best Teacher

From the TED website:

Joseph Lekuton, a member of Kenya's parliament, tells the story of his own extraordinary education, and then a parable of how Africa itself can grow. His message of hope for Kenya in particular has never been more relevant.

Hans Silvester captures in his book 'Natural Fashion: Tribal Decoration from Africa' the delectable headdresses of the Omo Valley peoples.In the Telegraph he states:

'They can take any material from the plant world - leaf, stem, flower, grass, root - and instantly transform it into an accessory straight from a fairy tale, without the slightest tinge of absurdity.'

'I was amazed, gobsmacked at how chic their creations looked - completely elegant - with a fine sense of balance and proportion.' They are as mannered, he says, as early 1960s Parisian couture.

The Economist writes:

It is certainly true that growth in Africa has been, and will be, constrained by infrastructural bottlenecks—as is apparent from the power-supply problems that have bedevilled growth in Nigeria and parts of East Africa for years, while recently emerging as a serious obstacle to recovery and expansion in Southern Africa. However, far from being the consequence of inadequate funding, these are the result of weak political commitment, poor (or non-existent) planning and the conviction that a foreign donor or lender will come to the rescue. Thus politicians in South Africa and Zambia were well aware that there would be a power problem from 2007 onwards, but they failed to act until it was too late. This problem is replicated throughout Africa, where inadequacies are apparent not in hardware so much as "software" such as skills, technology and above all good governance.

Steve Jurvestson's photoblog highlights a Wealth and Religosity graph from the Atlantic.Part of a Pew Global Attitudes report which:

Finds a strong relationship between a country's religiosity and its economic status. In poorer nations, religion remains central to the lives of individuals, while secular perspectives are more common in richer nations.1 This relationship generally is consistent across regions and countries, although there are some exceptions, including most notably the United States, which is a much more religious country than its level of prosperity would indicate. Other nations deviate from the pattern as well, including the oil-rich, predominantly Muslim -- and very religious -- kingdom of Kuwait.

"...WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE(a documentary)? challenges the world's understanding of Africa, asking the question: why is this incredible continent still impoverished after 30 years in the spotlight and billions of dollars in foreign assistance?..."
See trailer:

Michael Knox Beran writes in City Journal:

In one area, foreign aid, the paternalist spirit is far from dead. A new generation of economists and activists is calling for a “big push” in Africa to expand programs that in practice institutionalize poverty rather than end it. The Africrats’ enthusiasm for the failed policies of the past threatens to turn a struggling continent into a permanent ghetto—and to block the progress of ideas that really can liberate Africa’s oppressed populations....If the prosperous nations really want to help Africa, they need to resist the seductions of paternalism. They need to promote, not policies that will ensure that the continent remains a collection of fiefdoms dependent on subsidies and celebrity pity, but wealth-generating entrepreneurial efforts. They need to export, not a dated philosophy of mandarinism, but ideas that really can lift peoples and nations out of the lower depths—the ideas of Bacon, Hayek, de Soto, and The Wealth of Nations.

Togbui Kwaku Ahiam IV makes a case (view video) for supporting local gun manufacturer's. Another case of us throwing the baby out with the bathwater? Reread if you have not already "How Africa Missed its Industrialization"
via Africa News

Jacques Gaillard & Anne Marie Gaillard write in SciDev:

The diaspora model will never be a low cost, self-sufficient answer to Africa's scientific needs. Its effectiveness depends crucially on the internal dynamics of the home-based scientific communities. After all, a network of expatriates is at best an extension of a national scientific community, not a substitute. Efforts should therefore, first and foremost, focus on strengthening national scientific capacity particularly training and recruiting the next generation of scientists. If this is not done, the diaspora will only be a smart cloak hiding shabby clothes.

John Mulaa wrote before the Kenyan Crisis:

The most momentous news to come out of Kenya these past few days was not the celebratory roar by supporters of the winners of respective ODMs presidential nominations.It was the deafening silence that attended the release of a report linking allies of former President Daniel Moi to massive looting that allegedly saw billions of dollars taken out for safekeeping and investment out of the country.
One searched in vain for clamour for action by politicians and citizens in general to, at the very least, establish the veracity of the Kroll Report. Instead, the Government Spokesman was on the frontline shooting the report down as hearsay and rumour. Former officials who were adversely mentioned were given opportunity to rebut the findings.

David Ajayi writes in African Loft "...Africa is fraught with reckless display of power and often senseless use of state resources to project an aura of authority and prestige..." referring to an excerpt:

A peculiar display of power in the continent, cannot be over-looked. Some call it the conspicuous vulgarity of state power. Others call it the black man’s syndrome. Oh just look at it: a situation where one person commands over ten cars and other buses in his convoy even when most of the high schools in the country have no roofs over them, not to talk of computers, cannot be something very pleasant to the human psyche.

When are we going to “step on the brakes” and start examining practices that have become not only obsolete, but discard also those that are grossly anti-productive and pro-corruption?
“A situation where one person [government official] commands over ten cars and other buses in his convoy even when most of the high schools in the country have no roofs over them” is certainly wrong and must be addressed. But who will take the first step? Who cares?

The Economist reports on the challenges faced by publishers:

Nigeria was once the centre of literary publishing in west Africa—not just for local companies but international houses as well. But when military rule and economic decline saw much of the middle class flee in the 1980s, the publishers left too. Today, there is no distribution network and scant demand for fiction...Cassava Republic, a publisher founded in 2006, operates with a low profit margin for now, in the hope that it can cultivate a loyal base of readers that will one day meet costs. The founder, Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, says she wants her customers' “intellectual hunger to be as pressing as their stomachs”.

George Ayittey writes(pdf):

We need an intelligent opposition to make democracy work in Africa – not the rah-rah noisy opposition that is only capable of waving placards and chanting “Kibaki Must Go!” and “Mugabe Must Go!”The opposition must do its home work. It must know its enemy, study its tactics and develop effective counter-strategies accordingly. If the opposition doesn’t do its home work, contests on a field that is not level and loses, it should not come out screaming “Foul, foul!” Zimbabwe holds elections in March. Do we want to see a repeat of the same foolish mistakes?

Ali A. Mazrui writes

Institutions were inaugurated without reference to cultural compatibilities, and new processes were introduced without respect for continuities. Ancestral standards of property, propriety and legitimacy were ignored.When writing up a new constitution for African countries, the elites would ask themselves: “How does the US House of Representatives structure its agenda?”; “How do the Swiss cantons handle their referendum?”; Or even wonder how the Canadian federation would handle such an issue.On the other hand, these elites almost never asked, “How did the Banyoro, the Wolof, the Igbo or the Kikuyu govern themselves before colonisation?” In the words of Irish philosopher, Edmund Burke’s words: “People will not look forward to posterity who never look backward to their ancestors.”

Ken Silverstein writes in Harpers about another failure of a Top Down development project:

Back in 2000 construction began on a $3.7 billion pipeline running from oil fields in southern Chad to the Atlantic coast of Cameroon. An international consortium led by ExxonMobil and ChevronTexaco, promised the project would be a model for Third World energy projects, and would alleviate poverty in Chad and promote political reform and stability.The controversial project proceeded with the enthusiastic backing of the do-gooders at the World Bank. “World Bank involvement will ensure greater public consultation, local participation, and attention to environmental and other socio-economic issues,” said a rosy statement released during the project’s early days.The project was completed a few years ago and there appears to have been little or no poverty reduction in Chad since the oil began flowing, governmental corruption is worse than ever, and there’s been no political reform.

SA Rocks highlights a worrying culture of complaint, a state of mind that is quite common across the continent:

"Yes we have a crisis, yes we have unacceptable levels of crime, and yes the majority of us will suffer. Do we wail, weep, gnash our teeth, pack for Perth, or do we actively seek to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem?
We are still mostly a nation that complains bitterly about our respective lots in life, but expect the problems to be solved by others. We are way behind our European counterparts in this area. And yes, I do believe that each individual no matter our position in life or current role we play can make a difference. If we are each one of us putting positive thoughts and energies out there, we will turn the tide of negativism, and actually help to change things around us!"

Eric Grover writes:

The symptoms and underlying causes of Africa’s malaise are widely understood. Nevertheless for almost half a century, in addressing the African malaise the West has stubbornly indulged in counter productive feel-goodism. Now, acknowledging the worsening human tragedy Western leaders, myopically, and a bit piously, call for more of the same. This is deceptive feel-good fodder for the casually concerned. For political, media, religious and business leaders paying attention, this is a cynical hamster-wheel prescription. This Western folly consigns hundreds of millions of Africans to generations more of shortened, impoverished and less free lives, and unrealized dreams.
Africa needs tough love from the West, not more charity. Corrupt despotic regimes must be changed and the institutional plumbing of economic and political freedom installed, forcibly in at least a few of the worst cases. Does the West have the confidence, will and interest in pursuing such a course? Probably not.

"...The Geneva Private Capital Symposium (GPCS) is an action-oriented platform designed for the private sector to uncover economic opportunities in underserved financial markets. It is a platform to share experiences, network and expand knowledge on development challenges and financial opportunities to secure a more inclusive capitalism..."

In an interview with Pambazuka titled "Africa and China: Then and now", Kwesi Kwaa Prah stated:

One of the things we have to learn is that advancement in our time must be home grown. Africans have to learn to pull themselves up by themselves, one. Two, this process has to be based on their own cultural pre-requisites. It is not possible to develop Africa grounded in languages like English, French or Portuguese or Arabic for that matter. Africans have to realise that the cultural base for development has to be their own. That is not to say they should not learn other languages, no, but they must make their languages the centre of all the development efforts that they make.

Franklin Cudjoe wrote in Critical Opinion:

Positions at the AU are divided between the so-called “gradualists,” who believe that individual countries should first build working economies and integrate them through regional blocs, and the “radicals,” who believe a supra-national authority would somehow allow Africa to compete internationally. Neither side, however, is talking about the real issue: economics. Right now, Africans cannot compete locally or regionally, let alone internationally: we need economic freedom for Africans to raise themselves out of poverty, unshackled from State serfdom. The life-changing power of trade has been demonstrated historically and not just in the West. At the height of their glory, many pre-colonial African states and empires found trade to be a better way to prosperity than through conquests. Gold was shipped from Wangara in the Upper Niger across the Sahara desert to Taghaza, in Western Sahara, in exchange for salt, and to Egypt for ceramics, silks and other Asian and European goods. The old Ghana empire controlled much of the trans-Sahara trade in copper and ivory. At Great Zimbabwe gold was traded for Chinese pottery and glass. From Nigeria, leather and iron goods were traded throughout West Africa.
Today, Africa has lost that trade and many conspiracy theories abound for its backwardness. But the blame game ignores the devil within: the internal and regional barriers that hobble trade, making tariffs within Africa far higher than any tariff barriers by outside blocs . There are even politicians, bureaucrats and many aid activists who argue that these tariffs make essential contributions to government revenue--meaning government offices are more valuable than citizens or the economy.

Philip Booth & Linda Whetstone question the value of Fair Trade in their article Half A Cheer for Fair Trade:

The fair trade movement claims that the products it provides are sourced ‘justly’ and that purchasing fair trade products brings economic benefits for the poor. Whilst it is clear that fair trade might bring some benefits to particular groups, whether it brings significant net benefits to the poor in general is questionable. Moreover, the claim that fair trade transactions are more ‘just’ cannot be substantiated. Customers also might be surprised to learn that the majority of the Fairtrade Foundation's net income is spent on promoting its own brand.

Bill Easterly responds to Bill Gates's "Creative Capitalism",he states :

That traditional capitalism has been the single successful driver of true poverty reduction and that, while it may not function as fast or as equally as we would like, it is the only solution that will work. In Easterly's mind, Gates was proposing a 'new' capitalism where corporate philanthropists would be recognized for supplying goods to the poor - a solution with weak incentives and a low likelihood of success.